Super Bowl coaches' parents are Wisconsin residents

Jim and John Harbaugh’s parents wish people would stop calling Super Bowl 47 the “Har-Bowl” or the “Super-Baugh.”

Jack and Jacki Harbaugh – who live in Mequon, a northern exurb of Milwaukee -- spoke with reporters in a conference call.

Jack Harbaugh, a long-time college coach, says he’d prefer to call it the “Lombardi Trophy Game.”

Jack said he remembers the first two Super Bowls, both won by Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers. He calls the Super Bowls a “great, great classic” series that has literally become awesome.

The couple will watch their son Jim Harbaugh coach the San Francisco 49ers and their son John Harbaugh coach the Baltimore Ravens in the Feb. 3 Super Bowl in New Orleans.

The sister of the two coaches, Joani, married former Marquette men’s basketball coach Tom Crean, who’s now the head coach at Indiana.

Crean said this week it would be hard to watch the Super Bowl, became the family will not cheer for either team to win.

Jack Harbaugh agrees. Earlier this week, he said he was not sure whether he and his wife would watch the game in person from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome – or stay home in Mequon and watch it on TV.

Benson cited for loose Rottweilers

Packers running back Cedric Benson was recently given a pair of citations for letting his Rottweiler dogs run loose in Manitowoc County. He received two traffic tickets a couple weeks ago for going 41 miles an hour over the speed limit and for driving without a valid license, both in Manitowoc County.

The 30-year-old Benson can either pay the fines or appear in court to challenge the forfeiture actions. Online court records show that the fines total just over $1,050 for the four charges. He has court dates set for Feb. 13 and Feb. 20.

The two newest citations involved Benson’s two Rottweilers.

Authorities said the dogs attacked 17 calves at his neighbor’s farm last month near Maribel. Sheriff’s deputies said the dogs had chewed the legs of the young cows, and several calves had deep wounds.

Officials said Benson put up a fence to keep the dogs on the property. But the dogs reportedly got loose again 11 days ago, and Benson was cited a second time this week for having animals running at-large.

Benson joined the Packers in September when injuries forced the team to scramble for a running back. He played in five games before sitting out the rest of the season with a left foot injury.

Benson ran for 248 yards and a touchdown after having over 1,000 yards with Cincinnati in each of his previous three seasons. He recently expressed an interest in returning to the Packers next season.

Nyjer Morgan to Japan

One of the Milwaukee Brewers’ playoff heroes from 2011 will spend this season in Japan.

Nyjer Morgan has signed a one-year contract with Yokohama of the Japan Central League. The veteran outfielder will get $1.6 million.

The 32-year-old Morgan played two seasons in Milwaukee. He batted .304 in 2011. He singled home the winning run in Game 5 of the National League Division Series against Arizona which gave Milwaukee its first playoff series win in 29 years.

Last year, he slumped to a .239 average and left as a free agent.

Morgan is a career .280 hitter in six big league seasons with Pittsburgh and Washington as well as the Brewers.

The Yokohama Bay Stars are expected to make Morgan their No. 3 batter. The lineup also includes ex-Major Leaguers Tony Blanco and Alex Ramirez.

Tags: wi sports, sports, proam